Reversible electric range



2, 1932- G. E. ATKINSON 1,359,649

REVERSIBLE ELECTRIC RANGE I Filed 001?. 5, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l Aug. 2, 1932.

v G. E. ATKINSON REVERSIBLE ELECTRIC RANGE Filed Oct. 5, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 2, 1932 v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GEORGE EDWIN 'ATKINSON, OF PBOCTOBVILTJE, OHIO, ASSIGNOR, BY HESNE ASSIGN- IEHTS, TO ARMSTRONG APPLIANCE CORPORATION, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE REVERSIBLE ELECTRIC RANGE Application filed October 5, 1929. Serial No. 397,848.

This invention relates to im rovements in cooking ranges and more partlcularly it relates to improvements in electric. cooking ranges.

An object of the invention is the provision of a sectional reversible and interchangeable cooking range structure which may be readily converted by the merchant or distributor into a variety of combinations to meet the demands of the purchaser.

Another ob ect is the provision of novel means enablin the sections of the cooking ra e body to be securely though removably stac ed one upon the other in forming the stove body.

A further object is to provide electric connection between heating units in difl'erent sections enabling the ready side by side reversal of said sections and enabling them to an be placed one upon the other.

I The invention also has for its object the provision of a base support for the cooking range body having novel features. of construction enabling it to removably, though rigidly and securely, support the stove body.

Other ob ects will appear hereinafter.

The invention consists in the features and the combination and arrangement of" parts hereinafter described and particularly point- :0 ed out in th blaims.

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is a view of my sectional'cooking range assembled upon a double base having short legs and showing a combination in which the oven and burner plate units are disposed side by side and are spaced from the ,base by the interposition of storage units. 1

Fig. 2 is arview of the base of Fig. 1.

' 3 shows the burner or hot plate secflexible cable connection extending between them, said sections being in position to be received upon the base support of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a detail of one corner of the base showing the flanged construction of the leg.

Fig. 5 is a detail view showing the preferred construction enablin the sections to be removably and rigidly stac ed. 7

Fig. 6 IS a view of a modified construction of stacking section.

F1 tion disposed beside the oven section with the Fig. 7 is a view of the cable, showing its" gonnections to the oven and terminal plug Fig. 8 is a detail view showing the connection of the splasher plate to the burner unit.

In the drawings, 1 represents the support ing base for the cooking range body. The base comprises the base band 2 with legs 3 secured to the inner side of the base band. The base band 2 is preferably formed of sheet metal in the form of a strip bent to form a rectangle, the ends overlapping and securely connected as shown at 2a. The legs 3 are formed of a piece of sheet metal bent along its center line to fit the corner of the rectan le at the inside and to be secured thereto by screws or bolts" or the like 4. Inwardly extending horizontallydisposed flanges 3a are provided on the le s and serve as supports or bearing surfaces or the cook ing range body. The fiange's3a forming the tops of the legs are disposed below the upper .edge of the base band as shown at 36. In- .turned flanges 30 at the bottom of the legs provide feet therefor.

The double, form of base shown in Fig. 2 is preferably provided with a centraltransverse brace member 2?) as shown in Fig. 2 having downturned ends which are connected to the front and back portions of the base band. It will be understood that the present invention contemplates that the base may be made single or-double; i. e., it may be constructed of a size (not shown), to support a single tier of range body sections or .of asize' as shown to sup ort 'a double tier of sections. With the sing e base, the brace 2?) could be dispensed with.

Also it is contemplated by the present invention to provide a base having le s of double the length of those shown in ig. 2 so that the base may support an oven unit and a hot plate unit at the desired height, without the interposition of the storage unit sections shown in Fig. 1. The long-legged base combinations arenot illustrated as it is obvious that they will be clearly understood from the description.

The cooking range combination shown in Fig. 1 comprises the double tier supporting base 1 upon which are mounted storage space its lower end unit sections 5 in side by side relation, which in turn support the oven unit section 6 and burner or hot plate unit section 7 with back plate 8.

The present invention contemplates a struc-' ture of each unit section enabling them to be securely and rigidly stacked, while enabling them to be readily removable for in terchanging or reversing or superimposing them in numerous combinations as desired.

Preferably each section of the body of the cooking range is provided at each of its corners with an angle iron corner strip 9 rigidly secured thereto by screws 10 or the like. This strip or an le member is so mounted that epends from the bottom of the unit section as shown at 11 and its upper end is disposed a substantially equal distance below the top of the section as shown at 12. This construction enables the sections to be firmly stacked in interlocking relation one upon the other with the ends of the adjacent corner angles on the adjacent sections of the tier or stack substantially meeting to form a virtually continuous strip. The depending ends of the corner angles cooperate with the corners of the sections next below it to prevent relative lateral movement and to provide a unitary stack.

The lowermost section of the'body of the.

locating and restraining socket means for the stacking of the sections of the range as described, also serve to join the side of each unit to its back and front.

An alternative means of providing a unitary readily disassembled stack or tier is shown' in Fig. 6 in which each section is reduced in size for a short distance below its top as shown at 13, and each section is provided in its bottom with a corresponding depression 14 to receive the reduced portion 13 of the adjoining section. 14; may be formed by pressing in the bottoms of the sections so as to leave the outer ed es folded on themselves and thus extending elow the bottom.

It will be apparent from Fig. 1 and the construction of the unit sections that therange combination of Fig. 1 can be readily changed from a left hand range to a right hand range, to meet the purchasers requirement that the oven be on the left hand or right hand side. The oven may be disposed beneath the hot plate section upon a single or double base with the storage spacsection disposed or stacked as desired,- or entirely dispensed with. The burner plate section The depressions may be used alone upon a high or low base as also may the oven section. The hot plate section is preferably made in two slzes, w1th or without a space beneath the hot plate.

Extending between the electrically heated oven' section and the electrically heated burner plate section when they are combined in the range, is a flexible electric cable 15 which enables them to be readily reversed in side by side relation and to be readily placed with the oven beneath the plate. Thus, the electrical connections between these two heating units of the sectional range are effected in a novel manner. The main inlet isthrough a suitable entrance terminal box 16. On the rear of the oven unit 6 is a plug-in receptacle 18. Connection is made by the flexible cable 15 having suitable terminals, and leading from 16 to 18 so that current is supplied to the oven. The entrance. terminal plug box 16 is disposed in the rear wall of the hot plate section, 7.

The flexible cable is made up of flexible metallic conduit housing suitable conductors. The single flexible cable has socket contacts at one end, which engage with plug-in contacts in the oven heater unit 6. The flexible cable as shown in Fig. 7 has a connector body 21 with socket contacts 22 secured on one end by bracket 17 and a box connector screw member 23 with locknut 24 on the other end. The box connector is to be used to clamp the fiexi-- ble metallic conduit to a wall of the terminal box 16 in which a knock-out opening 25 is extend into the terminal box and are connected to the entrance terminal 26 of the hot plate section. The connector body fits the plug-in 18 on the oven.

This flexible cable connection thus permits the electrically connected heater unit section to be mounted one on top of the other or one on either side of the other. v

Theback plate or splasher 8 is preferably of dished shape andis fastened at its lower end to the burner plate section 7 as shown at 19 by'screws'or the like 20.

; It is never necessar to disconnect more than ,one end of the smgle cord connection while effecting the reversal of the sections.

The present invention thus provides a simple, practical, and effective means enabling the reversal of the electrically connected heating unit sections; namely, by merely removing or disconnecting a plug at one end of the cable so as to disconnect the two parts of the range and after the two parts are aligned in the new position, simply plugging theconnection in again. It will be apparent that the cable can be made of sufficient length that the parts may be reversed without disconnection.

Interposed between the storage space unit/ section 5 and the burner plate unit section 7 is a drawer section 7 a, or in other words, the

provided to' receive the connector. The wires 1m Ill burner plate unit section may be said to be preferably divided into and composed of the upper burner plate portion 7 and the lower drawer section 7a, mounted on top of the storage space section. The burner plate section 7 therefore preferably has the lower or drawer portion separable therefrom although it will be understood that 7 and 7a may be built as one unit if desired.

I claim:

1. In combination in an electric cooking range, a range body comprising removable, interchangeable and reversible sections, and a single flexible electric cable connection between two of said sections adapted by disconnection and connection of but one end thereof to permit said sections to be readily superimposed. or reversed in side by side relation.

2. A sectional electric range according to claim 1 in which said two sections comprise oven and burner plate sections.

3. In combination in an electric cooking range, a range body comprising removable, interchangeable, and reversible sections, including oven and burner plate sections, and a single flexible electric cable connection between said oven and burner plate sections adapted by disconnection and connection of but one end thereof to permit said sections to bereadily superimposed or reversed in side by side relation. said cable comprising a flexible metallic conduit housing suitable conductors, a connector body having sockets and supported in a bracket at one end of said cable,

a plug-in contact on the oven for cooperating with said cable connector sockets, said cable having a box connector screw member on the other end fastened in the wall of the terminal box of said burner plate and with the conductors connected to the entrance terminals of the burner plate.

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature.

GEORGE EDWIN ATKINSON. 

